ANALYTICAL KEY TO THE OLD TESTAMENT 4 VOLUMES

Here is a summary of the introductions for all four volumes of “Analytical Key to the Old Testament” by John Joseph Owens:

Common Purpose Across All Volumes:

Each volume in the Analytical Key to the Old Testament series is designed to help users interpret the Hebrew Bible accurately by providing exhaustive grammatical and lexicographical details for every word in the Hebrew text. It assumes some foundational knowledge of Hebrew but supports users who may not have retained deep grammatical insight.

Key Features:

• Word-by-Word Analysis: Each word is broken down by grammatical form, usage, root, and cross-referenced with Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew-English Lexicon and Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar.
• Text Source: The Hebrew base is the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, and the English rendering generally follows the Revised Standard Version (RSV).
• Interpretive Support: The work flags important interpretive elements like verb stems (Qal, Hiph’il, etc.), constructs, definiteness, and verb-object relationships.
• Focus on Original Meaning: Emphasizes understanding the original context, nuances, and structure rather than relying solely on English translations.

Volume Overviews:

• Volume 1 (Genesis–Joshua): Lays the foundation by addressing the Torah’s grammar and structure, emphasizing syntactic detail for the narrative and legal texts (Volume 1, page ix).

• Volume 2 (Judges–2 Chronicles): Expands the analytical method to historical books, maintaining strict attention to syntactic shifts and Hebrew constructs in prose narrative (Volume 2, page ix).

• Volume 3 (Ezra–Song of Solomon): Includes poetic and wisdom literature with their distinct grammatical and structural features, such as parallelism and poetic diction (Volume 3, page ix).

• Volume 4 (Isaiah–Malachi): Focuses on prophetic literature, attending to both classical and elevated poetic structures while continuing detailed grammatical parsing (Volume 4, page ix).